Angels and Shepherds

Luke 2:8–20 NLT

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Shepherds. There are a couple ideas out there about the shepherds of this era in this area..

The first is that these were rejects and outcasts. This is possible. But I want to look at another possibility.

What if these were priests? The law forbids shepherding anywhere within city limits, unless they were being raised for use in the temple.

This makes this story all the more compelling. You see, the priests would raise lambs to be sacrificed. Their job was to make sure the sheep stayed spotless and without blemish. Once the angels announce to them that the Messiah is born, they run to see Him. They know what this means. After they meet Jesus, they run and start telling people. The people are astonished, but they believe the story. Why? Because these were holy priests. Their job was to go to God for the people and to the people for God. They were the first to share this Good News, the Gospel of Jesus. How does this relate to us?

1 Peter 2:9–10 NLT

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”

God has called us out of darkness into His wonderful light! Not so we can be there, but so we can bring others with us! We are a nation of royal priests. That means our job is to show people how to go to God!

Something for free. What if both of these ideas have merit? They show us that God reaches us on both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in between.